


Begin Again

by broadway_and_burbank



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 13:33:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18411680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broadway_and_burbank/pseuds/broadway_and_burbank
Summary: After a bitter end, Anna bumps into a new beginning





	Begin Again

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this back in 2015. I'm not entirely sure why I decided to repost this, but here we go

The text shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it still made her horribly upset.

_I want the bracelet back._

Stupid, horrible Hans texted her out of the blue and wanted back the diamond bracelet he’d given her.

They hadn’t talked in months – not that Anna wanted to hear from him ever again – but sometimes he’d randomly text her to ask for gifts back. She knew what that meant.

Anna picked up her phone and pounded on the keyboard.

_Which girl are you giving it to?_

Stupid, horrible, cheating Hans.

Anna found the bracelet in the back of her dresser and collapsed on her bed, weighed down by a crushing feeling of defeat and anger. She held up the bracelet to get one last look at it, then threw it to the side.

She and Hans had broken up a few months ago, and although she knew she was much better off without him, she couldn’t help but be upset anytime she even _thought_ about him.

He didn’t deserve any space in her head or heart.

Her phone beeped again and she scowled at the text.

_Grow up._

She was tempted to reply with a two word response of her own, but she tossed her phone next to her on the bed instead, refusing to engage. A long sigh escaped her lips; sometimes being dramatic helped a bit.

Anna sat up, annoyed at herself. It was the first sunny day in what seemed like months, but instead of going outside, and she was in her room moping.

She quickly hoisted herself off her bed, determined to turn her day around. She figured a walk would clear her head, and she always felt better after getting some fresh air, so she decided to go out.

She threw open her closet doors and dug around in the back to pull out an old, burnt orange sweater. She smiled as she remembered why it was back there – Hans hated that sweater. He didn’t like how it was practically the same color as her hair; he had this weird belief that redheads shouldn’t wear orange clothing.

She slipped the sweater over her head and quickly fixed her hair in the mirror, putting them in two braids – something else Hans didn’t like.

Even though he couldn’t see her, Anna felt that she could somehow spite him by altering her appearance this way, and it certainly made her feel a little better.

She grabbed her bag while heading out the door and slid it over her shoulder before she grabbed her house key.

Elsa had to stop into work and was supposed to be back soon, but Anna took a house key just in case; she had a bad habit of locking herself out.

As she opened the door and locked it behind her, she was welcomed by the sun of early spring.

Anna continued down the porch steps, past the driveway, and started her trek into town. The walk to town seemed farther than she remembered, but she didn’t mind. The weather was beautiful: there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but the air still carried a chill in the breeze, so her sweater was welcomed.

She smiled as she noticed the daffodils and crocuses that began to sprout out of the ground.

Just when Anna began to regret not talking the bus, she stepped out onto a bustling street full of people, vendors, and shops alike.  She strolled along the street for a few minutes, people watching and window shopping and making a resilient effort to not even think about Hans.

Soon, an especially cold gust of wind hit Anna from all directions, and she shivered at the impact. Her shoes scraped against the concrete as she quickened her pace in order to hurry into a café that was approaching on her right.

She ducked through the door and welcomed the immediate warmth of the cozy establishment. She wasn’t planning on it, but a hot chocolate _did_ sound wonderful, so Anna ordered one – with extra whipped cream, naturally – and headed towards the back of the café to find a seat.

A tiny circle booth was open in the very corner of the shop, and Anna placed her bag in before sliding in after it, gliding her fingertips over the worn vinyl.

She pulled a book out of her bag, but couldn’t focus enough to make it past a page, so she placed it on the table as she waited for them to call out her order. She pulled her long sleeves over her hands as looked out the window located next to the booth, watching the dust particles lazily flit around in the beam of sunlight before falling to the floor.

“Hot chocolate, extra whipped cream for Anna,” a voice called from the front, and Anna ripped her gaze from the window. She worked her way out of the booth and grabbed her bag, her sights completely focused on the front counter that she didn’t notice her bag slipping off her shoulder – until it hit something.

“Hey!”

Anna whipped around and gasped when she saw that she’d knocked over the coffee of a guy who was now trying desperately to save the various papers that were spread all over the table. He had stood up and grabbed his notebook quick enough to save it from damage, but the single sheets strewn about the table were rapidly absorbing the hot liquid and turning brown in color.

“Oh my God!” Anna dropped her bag to the floor, grabbed a handful of napkins off the nearest table, and began to dab the surface as forcefully as she could. She could see now that the papers had something on them, but whether they were full of writing or drawings or something else, she couldn’t tell because the pencil lead had smudged beyond recognition.

“I am so sorry!” she continued as she failed to save the soggy papers. Some of them even began to rip apart as she desperately rubbed them with the napkins, which had become just as wet and useless.

“You know,” the guy finally spoke up, “I don’t think that’s helping.”

Anna stopped her feverish movements to take a look at her efforts, and her heart sank when she realized she had only made it worse. The coffee was mostly sopped up, but his papers were now wet, crumpled balls dripping sadly on the table.

Anna frowned at the dreary sight and gave a deep sigh, shaking her head slightly. “I’m so sorry. I am really, really sorry. I just – I’m so sorry.” She took a shaky breath, utterly embarrassed and close to tears.

A pair of warm, brown eyes looked into Anna’s as she began to panic more with guilt. She could tell they were getting attention from the other patrons in the place, and the man seemed to notice too, since he was quick to defuse the situation.

“It’s fine; it was an accident.”

“No, I ruined everything. I’m really sorry.”

“Look, it was just a few papers, don’t worry about it.”

Anna put her face in her hands and mumbled more to herself than to him. “God, I mess up everything; I really didn’t need this today.”

“Hey, it’s honestly fine. It’s okay.”

Anna removed her hands from her face and shook her head. “No, no, it’s not okay. Um…” She looked around for a moment, then turned back to him when she got an idea. “Here, let me buy you another one.”

“What?”

“Another coffee, since I spilled your first one.”

“Oh, no. Thank you, but I’m fine.” He shifted a bit uncomfortably in his stance, but Anna wasn’t going to back down.

“Come on, I owe you that at least.”

“You really don’t.”

“Please?”

He tucked his notebook under his arm and glanced at the ceiling before looking back at her. “…fine.”

“Thank you.” Anna tried to smile as she grabbed her bag off the floor and began to make her way to the counter. “That wasn’t so difficult, was it?”

To her surprise, he grinned at that, and she gave a genuine one back, her mind simultaneously feeling more and less muddled than it had been all day.

“I’m Anna, by the way.”

“Kristoff.”

Having finally gotten her own drink and re-ordered Kristoff’s, Anna led him to the booth in the back of the café.

“Um, your table is still pretty wet, so…you can sit here. I mean, if you want to.”

“Oh, uh…” Kristoff quickly looked back at the other table. “Sure, thanks.” He sat on the opposite side of the booth, leaving the rounded corner section as a buffer between them.

They sat in an awkward silence, both of them staring at anything besides each other.

As Kristoff became particularly interested in his shoelaces, Anna glanced at him, but ended up looking longer than she intended when she noticed the sunlight streaming in from the window was shining off his blond hair, brightening their little corner even more than before.

Kristoff looked up from the ground and caught Anna’s stare for less than a second before they both looked down at their drinks. He forced out a cough and looked up again.

“Thank you, again, for this.”

“No, yeah, no problem!” Anna said, and winced when she realized it came out louder than she intended. “Like I said, it was the least I could do after I ruined your…whatever you were doing.”

“You didn’t ruin anything.”

“Could I have that in writing?”

Anna couldn’t help but smile when Kristoff breathed out a laugh.

“I’m serious. Don’t work yourself up over it; it was nothing.”

“What were you doing anyway? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t mind you asking. Doesn’t mean I’m going to answer you, though.”

Anna wasn’t entirely sure if he was teasing her or not, so she decided to pry a bit further.

“Please? I think I deserve the right to know what I maliciously destroyed.” She give him a jokey grin, and the corners of Kristoff’s mouth quirked up before looking back down at his cup.

“I told you, it really wasn’t anything important.”

“You have to tell me! The curiosity is literally killing me. If I die today, I hope you realize that it’s your fault.”

“You know, I think that’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

“Careful, or I might ‘accidentally’ spill that coffee over everything else you love.” Anna’s playful smile fell when she spotted Kristoff’s notebook on the table, and began to feel the rush of guilt and embarrassment all over again.

“Oh, no, I didn’t ruin this too, did I?” She snatched the notebook off the table and began to inspect the worn leather, making sure it wasn’t too damaged.

Kristoff shifted anxiously in his seat and shook his head. “No, uh, it’s fine.”

Anna almost seemed satisfied with his answer, but said, “Hold on, let me just make sure the inside’s alright.”

“Wait-”

“Don’t worry, I won’t read anything.” Anna opened the notebook to ease her concerns, but paused when she saw what occupied the pages.

The first thing she saw was an illustration of a forest, so detailed in its shading, shape, and lines, that if it wasn’t drawn right in the sketchbook, Anna would have sworn it was a picture. She slowly began to flip through its pages, transported through drawings of rolling hills, bodies of water, mountain tops, and fields of tallgrass prairie that Anna could swear were actually moving in the nonexistent breeze.

Kristoff said nothing and instead stared at the floor as Anna tore her eyes away from the book and looked back at him.

“Did you draw all of these?”

A mix of a shrug and a nod from Kristoff confirmed Anna’s suspicions, and her smile grew as she looked back to the sketchbook. She could tell he was embarrassed, but she couldn’t imagine why; his drawings were incredible.

“Kristoff, these are really good. I mean, they’re beautiful,” she said as his silence continued, and she gasped as she realized what she’d done. “I can’t believe I ruined some of your art; I’m so sorry.”

“They were just sketches, nothing final.”

Anna still felt horrible about it, but the feeling didn’t last too long as she continued to look through the drawings, and all bad feelings were replaced by curiosity. “Are these real places?”

“Some of them.” Kristoff’s face was still slightly red and he switched his gaze from the floor to the cup in his hands.

“Where’s this one?” She asked, pointing to an exquisitely drawn lake encircled by dense woods and steady mountains.

Kristoff slid a bit closer to the center of the booth to get a better look, and Anna followed his lead, scooting to her left and placing the sketch between them. She felt her cheeks warm up as he got closer and began to play with her hands in her lap, not quite knowing why she was feeling so shy all of a sudden.

“That’s Glacier National Park,” Kristoff answered her. “I’ve never actually been, but I’ve seen enough pictures to get the idea.”

Anna remembered a drawing she saw on another page, and quickly flipped to it. “What about this one?” she asked, pointing to a drawing of a hidden, rocky valley surrounded by thick trees. A simple cabin sat snug in the middle. She surprised herself by how quiet her voice was. She felt like she was either being too loud or too quiet, and mentally kicked herself over the fact, but Kristoff didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh, that’s nowhere in particular. I just made it up.”

Anna didn’t know why, but she wanted to know about every one of his drawings. While Kristoff was slightly closed off about it at first, he opened up with Anna’s consistent prodding and curiosity, and explained any of the drawings that Anna asked about.

At first, her eyes stayed glued to the paper, but as she continued to listen to his voice and hear the story of each art piece, she couldn’t help but glance up at him, noticing the light dusting of freckles under his eyes. She blushed, quickly ducked her head, and tried to focus her attention back on the book, but found it extremely difficult to do so, especially when she said something that made him laugh or vice versa. She leaned into the table a bit more to focus on the pages, but she could never keep her eyes there for long.

Some of his art was real places he’d been too, others were of places he’d only seen photographs of. But Anna’s favorites were the ones he made up. Fjords and mountains and forests that only existed in his mind and on the paper.

To Anna, those pieces were the most beautiful.

Neither had noticed that they had drifted closer while trying to share the sketchbook, and both jumped when they felt their hands brush under the table. Mumbled apologies were uttered as the two slid themselves slightly farther apart, yet still not as separated as they were when they first sat down.

Desperate to save them from the uncomfortable silence that was coming over them once more, Anna flipped to another page, surprised to see that this was a drawing of the street outside, complete with storefronts, lampposts, and cars parked haphazardly on the side of the road.

She continued on and saw more drawings of various places in town, some she could name, and some she couldn’t. She suddenly noticed something while looking at the town, and couldn’t stop herself from asking Kristoff about it.

“Why aren’t there any people?”

“Huh?”

“In your drawings. Like, for the ones you drew of the town. There aren’t any people.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m better with landscapes or still lifes or things like that. I’m really not good at drawing people.”

“What? No way.”

“Trust me, it just doesn’t work.”

Anna raised a brow and crossed her arms. “I don’t believe you.” She smiled and turned her head around the café, looking for the perfect sample. “Draw that guy over there,” she said, nodding to a man who sat in a velvet arm chair, typing intensely on a laptop. “I bet you can.”

“No, I’m not going to draw a stranger; I’d have to keep staring at them and…no. It’s too weird. Also, I can’t draw hands for the life of me.”

Anna huffed, then smiled as she got an idea. “Okay, then. Draw me.”

Kristoff froze. “I…what?”

“Draw me. I give you full permission to stare at me.” It was Anna’s turn to pause as she realized what she just said, and laughed awkwardly. “Uh…and…look!” She held up her hands and hid them in the long sleeves of her sweater. “No hands! So you don’t have to worry about that.”

Kristoff sighed, but smiled all the same. “Okay, fine. Just…make it look like you’re doing something.”

Anna picked her book up off the table and held it open, giving the pretense of reading it, still making sure her sweater covered her hands. She still couldn’t focus on any of the words, though.

Kristoff moved back to the opposite end of the table in order to get a better angle, and Anna slightly regretted asking him to draw her, since it required him to move farther away.

She tried to look neutral, but she couldn’t help smiling as Kristoff took his pencil out of his pocket and began sketching.

However, Anna’s smile soon dropped when she glanced away from her book to take a glimpse at Kristoff and admired how concentrated he was. His eyes moved from the page to Anna and back, never directing his attention anywhere else.

At one point, her eyes met his, and that action almost caused her to shiver. His previously warm eyes were now dark with intensity and focused on nothing but her. Anna forced herself to look at the book, but she could feel her skin burning under Kristoff’s penetrating stare, and she suddenly felt too warm in her sweater.

Anna focused on her breathing, trying to slow the excessive beating of her heart and decided to strike up a conversation. “So, am I your first model?” she asked jokingly, pleased when her voice came out calmer than she felt.

Kristoff’s mouth turned up into a smile as he continued working. “I’ve sketched a few family members on certain occasions, but…ah, never like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like…with just one person. Usually there’s a whole group of them.”

“How many people do you have in your family?”

“A lot.”

“Oh.” Anna was silent for a moment, wondering what that might feel like. “What’s your family like?”

Kristoff just smiled as he glanced up again and changed the subject. “I like your sweater.”

“What?” she asked, slightly confused by the new topic.

“Your sweater. It’s nice; it matches your hair.”

Anna smiled and bit her lip as she looked down, glad she had decided to wear it. “Thank you. I really like your hair, too.” Surprised by her own words, she forced her attention back on the book, blushing furiously.

She bravely glanced back at Kristoff, and felt a little calmer when she saw that he was still smiling, although he seemed to be doing his fair share of blushing as well.

Anna kept her mouth shut after that, worried that she would embarrass herself again, and she wasn’t entirely sure how long it was until Kristoff was done.

He shook his head as he tore the page from the sketchbook. “I’m sorry, this isn’t very good. I told you, I can’t draw people.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Anna said Kristoff slid back down to the center of the booth to give her the paper.

She took the picture in her hands and nearly gasped. Anna knew that she wasn’t anything special to look at, but gazing at his drawing, she actually felt like maybe she was.

She ran her fingertips over the piece of paper, amazed. It was just a rough sketch, but Kristoff somehow managed to make it look like she was glowing; the sun hit her in all the right places.

Her silence must have put Kristoff on edge, because he began to apologize again. “I know it’s not great; I can fix it, or do a different one if you’d like.”

“No,” Anna said so softly she wasn’t even sure if she’d spoken at all. “I love it. How did…I mean…wow. I look so nice. You actually made me look really pretty in this.”

“You’re beautiful.”

Anna whipped her head up toward Kristoff, her face on fire once more. Kristoff looked just as shocked, like he hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Maybe he hadn’t.

“What?” she asked, suddenly feeling too loud again.

“I, uh…you-” Kristoff sputtered. “I mean, I didn’t just make you look pretty and nice in the drawing. You’re already really pretty and nice so…uh…I was just putting that to paper and…” His face went bright red as she shut his mouth and stared at the ground.

“No, that was sweet.” Anna’s smile widened as Kristoff looked at her in disbelief. She placed her hand over his graphite stained one, and moved even closer. Their legs were touching under the table, but neither one moved away.

“Thank you so much for this. This…made my whole week. Actually, it made my past few months if I’m being honest. Would it be bad to say I’m glad I knocked your coffee over?”

“Feel free to do it anytime.”

Anna looked at the picture again before gazing up at Kristoff, whose eyes were shining in the sunlight. She noticed his eyes glance at her lips before slowly returning to meet hers. The din of the café faded into the background as Anna felt herself leaning in, and Kristoff doing the same.

Suddenly, Anna started when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket and she sighed as she reached for her phone.

“It’s my sister,” she told him as she checked the text message. “She just got home – I have to go.”

Kristoff simply looked understanding as he watched her put her drawing in her bag get up from the table. He got up as well, and they both stood in front of the table somewhat awkwardly, not sure what their next course of action should be, if any.

“So…” he started, obviously not sure what to say.

“Would you like to walk me to the bus stop?” Anna asked boldly, already deciding that she wasn’t walking home again.

Kristoff smiled and nodded, gesturing for her to lead the way.

They walked out onto the chilly sidewalk, and headed up the street toward the bus.

Anna spent most of the time talking about whatever came into her head, but she didn’t feel as embarrassed as she usually did when she found herself rambling.

Kristoff just…listened. He didn’t bring up her rather annoying habit of chatter.

Anna paused for a minute to take a sip of her hot chocolate and found herself blushing when she caught him staring at her.

“So,” she began casually. “What do I owe you?”

“You already bought me the coffee-”

“No; for the…the portrait.”

“Oh.” Now Kristoff blushed as he ducked his head, but Anna caught the smile he was trying to hide. “First one is free.”

“Well, what would a second one be worth?”

“A date.”

Surprised at his boldness, Anna stared up at him, smiling again when his face seemed to be as surprised as she felt.

“Uh, with me,” he added. “I mean, only if you want to, of course!”

Anna couldn’t stop the flutters in her stomach. “I think I could make that work.”

They smiled at each other as they walked and Anna felt a wave of disappointment when they reached the bus stop. “We’re here.”

“Yeah…we are.”

A comfortable silence settled over them as they stood by the curb, stealing glances and smiles at each other for a few moments until the sound of a bus could be heard rumbling down the street.

“Can I see your notebook?” Anna asked quickly.

To her delight, he handed it to her without any hesitation.

She opened it and pulled out his pencil, scribbling her number down. She felt herself flush as she handed the book back to him, page open on her phone number.

“As a down payment,” she clarified.

She felt her heart skip a beat at his rather ridiculous smile.

The bus stopped and opened its doors, a few people streaming out.

“Well, this is my stop. I mean start! I mean…I have to get on the bus.” Anna said quickly while attempting an airy laugh, but it came out as more of a wheeze and she cringed at the sound.

Kristoff didn’t seem to notice as he quickly nodded. “Yeah of course. You should…you should probably get on if you don’t want to miss it though.”

“Right!” Anna moved to get in the bus before she turned back and gave a quick wave to the blond grinning at her. “Bye, Kristoff!”

“Bye, Anna.” That lopsided grin was back on his face.

She climbed on board and fell into a seat with a soft sigh and a small smile on her face. The smile only grew when she realized Kristoff wasn’t leaving until the bus drove away.

When it finally continued its route, Anna pulled the sheet of paper out of her bag and held it in her lap. She bit her lip as she stared at the picture, but the smile wouldn’t stop spreading and her cheeks warmed up again. She tried to look away in order to cool her face down, but nothing seemed to be working.

She couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she glanced out the bus window, trying to focus on the trees passing by, but never having been the best at self-control, Anna’s gaze fell back to the drawing in her lap. Her face flushed again and she quickly placed her head in her hands, letting out an excited squeal that she hoped none of the other passengers heard.

The rest of the bus ride was spent staring at the picture and blushing at the memory of Kristoff’s intense gaze when he drew it.

For the first time in a long time, she was praying for a text.


End file.
